On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance

This is hands down a must read! When my uncle suggested I read this, I was skeptical. It didn't look all that amazing. But he finally wore me down and I'm so glad he did, because I enjoyed the shit out of this work!

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar combines history and personal narratives to produce an enriched account of the Harlem Renaissance and how it impacted his personal beliefs, ideologies, and life. Kareem explores three major sections of the Harlem Renaissance: the literary achievements of black legends, basketball, and the roots of jazz. I'm no history expert, but I sure as hell learned a lot more about black culture and history then I ever did in my textbooks or college course in African American History. Sometimes it can be challenging to show more make historical events exciting, but with all the rich material from this era, Kareem has no problem bringing it to life and showing how it impacted his early years.

A fascinating and eye opening read. A must read for fans of history, civil rights, basketball, jazz, etc. There is something in it for everyone! show less

We've kown for a long time that there's more to Kareem than skyhooks. In On the Shoulders of Giants, he shares his passion for history. He describes the Harlem Renaissance from several points of view: the social history that led up to it, the significant thinkers who contributed to it, the black basketball teams that originated there, and finally the jazz music that flourished in Harlem. He ties up each section with a couple of pages about how that facet affected his life. Not superficial but not terribly deep either, the book gives overviews of key topics and fascinating descriptions of key individuals, and it can serve as a guide for further investigation for the reader who is so inclined. I enjoyed it quite a bit.